“Colonialism is the establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony.” (Fuente: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialism)

“A Colonial mentality is a conceptual theory around feelings of inferiority within some societies’ post-European colonialism, relative to the values of the foreign powers which they became aware of through the contact period of colonization. The concept essentially refers to the acceptance, by the colonized, of the culture or doctrines of the colonizer as intrinsically more worthy or superior. The subject matter is quite controversial and debated.” (Fuente: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_mentality)

Currently, Puerto Rico is one of the last colonies in the world. Both, the USVI and Puerto Rico, are so called unincorporated territories of the USA.

During the “Colonial Comfort” exhibition we will explore the impact, that the long history of colonialization has had on the social and economical development of these Caribbean islands. Panels, round tables, workshops, the exhibition itself and the catalogue that will be produced later will help you to put things into context.

Curator’s essay:

ADÁL, the collective ae.i.ou, Denise Bennerson, David Berg, Diane M. Butler, Nicole Canegata, Janet Cook-Rutnik, Lionel Cruet, Mónica Félix, Tina Henle, Liza Morales, Erik Miles, Ray Miles, Marta Mabel Pérez, Herminio Rodríguez, Steve Simonsen, William Stelzer and Rebecca Zilenziger – guest curator Lisa Ladner has invited these artists and photographers from the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to celebrate their friendship by contributing works that reflect the colonial legacy and its effect on present day life on the islands.

Our islands are unincorporated territories of the United States of America and thus not sovereign. We are weighed down by unutilized resources, low self-esteem, antisocial behavior and criminality. Unemployment, the migration of talents, drug abuse and drug trafficking – with the USA controlling our coastlines -, the lack of personal, corporative and governmental savings, as well as the lack of power are major problems. Colonies and territories don’t have power over the financial sector, imports and exports, the taxation system, natural resources, or transportation and communication. The USVI and Puerto Rico also lack the power to enter into international treaties – from environmental, to labor and even cultural treaties. And Puerto Rico still suffers from unfair cabotage laws of which the USVI were exempted in 1936.

But enough lamented! We are located in a privileged maritime trade zone, have good public universities, where research and development personnel could be recruited. We have trained and trainable people for manufacturing also other things than pharmaceutical products. With our many talents in film and advertising we could be an important service provider in the creative sector. We could offer international banking services. We could produce and process agricultural goods for ourselves and for export instead of selling out our land to developers and importing tropical fruits and coffee. We could develop alternative sources of energy by using solar power, design a plan for marine conservation and the cultivation of fish and seafood, and develop a more ecological and diverse tourism than focusing on cruise ships.

As sovereign nations, we could maintain strong links with the USA and establish closer links with Caribbean and Latin American countries, as well as the European Community. Spain in the case of Puerto Rico, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands and other former colonial powers in the case of the USVI, could become additional partners and markets. Unfortunately we are not sovereign. And instead of becoming enterprising, our governments – our representatives! – have chosen welfare and dependence on federal transfer programs. When you base a society on welfare, you can’t expect your young generation to be motivated, just as you can’t motivate someone to work, by giving him money for doing nothing.

So why not change our political culture, establish an efficient government that also avoids all kind of unnecessary paperwork, diversify commercially, and change the culture of dependency like many other small nations have successfully done. Singapore, Slovenia, Ireland, New Zealand and Estonia are good examples of former dependent countries, and there is no reason why we should focus on Cuba or Haiti, when discussing sovereignty.

Why try to hide poverty, violence, mental health and other problems, instead of eliminating them? Why not move toward what can be done instead of complaining about what can’t be done? Are we simply too comfortable?

Living in a comfort zone is an experience people on our islands share with the rest of the world. The comfort zone is a state in which a person uses a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without taking risks. In the comfort zone you try to remain anxiety-neutral. While this strategy enables survival, settling for less can eventually lead to a fear driven, mediocre life that often comes with depression. Only by experimenting with new behaviors, by leaving the comfort zone, we might encounter a world of excitement, financial freedom, success and passion – a fulfilled life.

“Colonial Comfort” wants to create awareness about the problems that the USVI and Puerto Rico have in common. We invite you to focus on solutions and take action instead of falling into lethargy.

The works of the photographers and artists in this show are as diverse as our societies. Some of the images were done as part of commercial or editorial commissions, others were by-products of such assignments, and yet others were conceived as art works. This museum exhibition reveals the thin line between artistic, commercial, and editorial photography, and shows the power of the context in which an image is viewed.

From homeless people to wedding accessories, from science fiction settings to nostalgic moments, from politically to erotically charged scenes, from autobiographic to social research approaches, and from sad to funny stories we are always reminded, that “Colonial Comfort” is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms.

“Colonialism is the establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialism)

“A Colonial mentality is a conceptual theory around feelings of inferiority within some societies post-European colonialism, relative to the values of the foreign powers which they became aware of through the contact period of colonization. The concept essentially refers to the acceptance, by the colonized, of the culture or doctrines of the colonizer as intrinsically more worthy or superior. The subject matter is quite controversial and debated.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_mentality)